My Childhood with Jacqui Hurley: My parents ran one of those houses where the door was always open

The sports presenter on her early childhood in Australia, her lifelong love of sport, and how her parents instilled in her a lust for life and an openness to making the most of opportunities

Jacqui Hurley recalls her teenage years as being 'busy but happy, with sport being the main focus of every day. Picture: Moya Nolan

Jacqui Hurley is grateful to her parents for opening her eyes to the world and all its opportunities. In the recessionary 1980s' Ireland, Dave and Máiréad Hurley packed up their lives in Cork and moved to the other side of the globe with their three young children.

“Mam was a nurse and Dad was an electrician and they’d been offered jobs in Australia,” says the RTÉ sports broadcaster and TV presenter.